Composite material paneling and method of making the same

ABSTRACT

A composite material panel having alternating layers of wood veneer with recycled or waste material. The layers are sandwiched together. The technique involves forming the composite material layer by layer and employing materials in each layer that are suited to satisfy requirements for specific kinds of construction. The layer of recycled or waste material is preferably flexible and has memory. Some examples include plastic straw, bars from plastic, tires or metal, balls from plastic or tires, sheet from plastic, tires or metal, air bubble cushioning from plastic. The metal is exemplified by aluminum and tin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to paneling made of a compositematerial of wood waste, sawdust, discarded tires and recyclable itemsand a method of making the same. The paneling has memory and haschannels through which may be conveyed a fluid such as air.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Materials used in the construction of furniture, boats, homes,farms, porches, driveways, stairs, tiles, roofing tiles, etc. variesdepending upon the specific requirements for such construction.Conventionally, the techniques used to make such materials has variedsince the characteristics and properties of the materials that aresuited for satisfying those specific requirements likewise variesdepending upon the kind of construction involved. That is, the materialthat is suited for construction of a driveway to satisfy certainrequirements for constructing driveways may not be suited forconstruction of a boat that needs to satisfy different requirements andvice versa so the techniques used to make each kind of material hasconventionally varied.

[0005] The need for finding useful products for waste and recycledproducts continues to remain unsatisfied, even though they are readilyavailable. It would be desirable to transform such waste and recycledproducts and incorporate them into a common technique for themanufacture of paneling that provide a sufficient amount of abrasion andmechanical resistance, insulation, flexibility, solidity, and memory tosatisfy or exceed specific requirements for different kinds ofconstruction.

[0006] Further, it would be desirable if such paneling enabled aircirculation through the panel and had a better strength to weight ratiothan wood alone and was aesthetically pleasing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] One aspect resides in a composite material panel havingalternating layers of wood veneer with recycled or waste material. Thelayers are sandwiched together. The technique involves forming thecomposite material layer by layer and employing materials in each layerthat are suited to satisfy requirements for specific kinds ofconstruction. The layer of recycled or waste material is preferablyflexible and has memory. Some examples include plastic straw, bars fromplastic, tires or metal, balls from plastic or tires, sheet fromplastic, tires or metal, air bubble cushioning from plastic. The metalis exemplified by aluminum and tin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0008] For a better understanding of the present invention, reference ismade to the following description and accompanying drawings, while thescope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims:

[0009]FIG. 1 is a cross section of one layer of the composite materialpanel with memory;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a cross section of another layer of the compositematerial panel with memory;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a partially broken, perspective view of multiple layersof the composite material panel with memory;

[0012]FIG. 4 is an end view of multiple layers of the composite materialpanel with memory; and

[0013]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of an automated process formanufacturing the composite material panel in accordance with theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Turning to FIG. 1, a layer of materials are shown that include asolid layer 10 and an air passage layer 20. The air passage layerincludes a material that is configured to define an air passage and thathas memory to resiliently return to its original shape after distortionforces are removed.

[0015] The solid layer 10 may be made of any of the following materialsor combination thereof: timber, wood waste, sawdust or other recycledwood based material. The air passage layer 20 is made from any of thefollowing materials or combination thereof and configured to form acircular exterior surface (such as a ball, bar or tube): recycledplastic bottles, carpet, rugs; tires; aluminum or tin cans, foil orplates; plastic straws, or plastic air bubble cushioning.

[0016] The timber, wood waste and sawdust may come from a forested areathat is being, or recently has been, logged. The timber may come fromthe logs. The wood waste may come from any part of a cut tree that hasnot been used for other purposes, including portions of the tree trunk,and large branches. The sawdust from forestry or sawmills.

[0017] The plastic may come from recycled bottles, carpets, or rugs madeof plastic material. The tires come from recycling used tires. Thealuminum cans are provided from recycling.

[0018] The production of layer 10 varies depending upon the source ofmaterial used. If timber is the source, then the processing step iseither to uncoil or slice tiny sheets of wood of about 1 mm thicknessfrom a trunk of a tree to resemble veneer. If wood waste is the source,then the processing step is to slice tiny sheets of wood of about 1 mmthickness from branches to resemble veneer. If sawdust is the source,then the sawdust is compounded and held together with glue or otherchemical bonding agent to obtain tiny sheets of wood of 1 mm ofthickness to resemble veneer. In all cases, the end product, which aretiny slices of wood that resemble veneer, are further treated to renderthem resistant to fire, insects and water.

[0019] The production of layer 20 varies depending upon the end shape.The materials are cut are melted and formed into the desired end shape.The possible end shapes include: straws having a diameter of 3 mm, airbubble cushioning having a diameter of 3 mm, balls having a diameter of3 mm.

[0020] Turning to FIG. 2, the air passage layer 20 is replaced by aflexible, but solid, layer 30 that has memory. The layer 30 may be barsor sheet having a thickness of 2 mm, made from recycled material, suchas shredded or melted plastic, shredded tires, or melted or shreddedaluminum.

[0021] Turning to FIG. 3, a multilayer composite panel is shown having aplurality of solid layers 10 alternating with a plurality of air passagelayers 20.

[0022] To join or bind together layer 10 with layers 20, a bed of pressequipment may be helpful. A single sheet or multiple small sheets ofwood having a thickness of 1 mm are laid on a flat surface of the bed ofpress equipment. A coat of glue is applied on the visible face of thesewood sheets. At this point, the wood may be treated for resistanceagainst fire insects and water. The glue itself may contain suitablechemical treatment agents to effect such resistance. Plastic straws, airbubble cushioning, balls, bars or sheet are then disposed onto the gluedsheet of wood. Next, the plastic straws, air bubble cushioning, balls,bars or sheet are covered by another pre-glued sheet of wood of 1 mm inthickness. The press equipment is then activated to apply pressure for afew minutes, or however long is necessary, depending upon the nature ofthe glue, bonding agent or other make of binding.

[0023]FIG. 4 shows a variation of FIG. 3 in that the solid layers 10 areof wood veneer 1 that alternate with a combination of layers 2, 3, 4, 5or 6. Layers 2 and 5 are exemplified as air passage layers and layers 3,4 and 6 are exemplified as solid layers. Layer 2 may be tubular in shapewhile layer 5 may be a series of spherical shapes or solid rod shapes.Layer 3 is exemplified as configured as one or more sheets while layer 5is exemplified as a series of bars. Layer 6 is exemplified as aircushioning from plastic material.

[0024] If the end usage is for packaging, then the construction shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 may be used. If the end usage is for other end uses, thenthe layers are sandwiched together in the manner of FIGS. 3 and 4. Forinstance, if used as a building panel, it is preferred that layers 10 beslightly shorter in length than layers 20. This will result is a slightair gap between end-to-end panels between layers 10 of both panels. As aresult, if the panels are used to convey heated air circulation in aforced air system (under fan pressure), then this gap will enable theflow of air unimpeded from one panel to the next when the panels arearranged end-to-end. For instance, if the air flow is through a layerhaving plastic straws, it makes no difference to the smooth passage ofair flow whether the layer of plastic straws of one panel are exactlymatched with those of the other since the gap allows the air to freelyflow into the plastic straws of the next panel. Further, if a portion ofone panel is blocked by an obstruction, such as due to a window frame ora door frame or even due to a collapsed plastic straw, the gap allowsthe air flow to freely bypass the obstruction.

[0025] In normal operation, a customer calls, faxes or emails in anorder for a panel, specifying either the specific abrasion andmechanical resistance, insulation, flexibility, solidity, and memoryproperties that are necessary to at least satisfy specific requirementsfor a panel suited for use in a particular kind of construction.Otherwise, such a customer may confer with technical staff on hand toascertain such requirements based on the particular kind ofconstruction. As an alternative, the customer may be asked to follow amenu-driven inquiry that leads to identifying specific requirements,whether the menu be phone-based or computer-based over a global networkof computers (Internet).

[0026] The requirements are recorded, either in written form orelectronically in a computer based device. Based on those requirements,a match is determined for recycled or waste materials having propertiessuited for satisfying those requirements. The match may be doneelectronically with a software program that simply compares therequirements with known attributes or properties of material stored in adatabase. If there are more than one match, the matches may be comparedwith the availability of the particular types of recycled or wastematerials to aid in the selection. Cost and weight may also be includedto determine the most cost-efficient material to deliver. Based on thenumber of and desired thickness of the various layers that will comprisethe multi-layer, composite panel and based on the number of panelsneeded (of predetermined lengths) to satisfy the customer demands, anamount of the particular type of recycled or waste material needed tosatisfy the demand may be computed. Orders for the recycled or wastematerial may then be sent electronically to distributors of suchmaterial for delivery of the appropriate amount of recycled or wastematerial for assembly into the multi-layer, composite panels. Suchdistributors already sort recycled or waste material on their premises.

[0027] The entire assembly process of the multi-layer, composite layerpanels may be automated as shown in FIG. 5. A conveyor 40 is used toconvey wood veneer sheets 68 -in succession to a gluing station whereadhesive or glue 48 is dispensed from a glue dispenser 50 that dispensesthe adhesive or glue 48 that is within a glue receptacle 52. At thegluing station, an adhesive is applied to each wood veneer sheet inturn. If there is no wood veneer sheet already on a bed 44 of pressingequipment 46, then the leading one of the wood veneer sheets 42 of theset of wood veneer sheets 68 is placed on the bed 44. Otherwise, asubsequent wood veneer sheet 64 of the wood veneer sheets 68 will beflipped over so that its glue side faces down and then lowered ordropped onto recycled or waste material 54 that should already be on thewood veneer sheet 42 before the further wood veneer sheet 64 is loweredor dropped on top. The recycled or waster material 54 was deposited ontothe glued side of the wood veneer sheet 42 by a dispenser 58, whichdispenses the recycled or waste product 54 stored in an exchangeablestorage bin 56.

[0028] The chemical bonding agent or adhesive 48 may contain furtherchemical additives that resist damage otherwise caused from fire,insects and water or such further chemical additives may be appliedseparately. After the chemical bonding agent or adhesive 48 is depositedonto the wood veneer sheet 42 fully to cover a side, the wood veneersheet 42 needs to be moved to the bed 44 before the chemical bondingagent or adhesive 48 hardens so that the recycled or waste material 54may be deposited on top and be joined or bonded to the wood veneer sheet42.

[0029] A controller 60 directs operation of recycled or waste materialdispenser 58 to ensure that a sufficient quantity of recycled or wastematerial 54 is dispensed, the glue dispenser 50 to completely cover agiven wood veneer sheet at the gluing station with the chemical bondingagent or adhesive, the timing of delivery of wood veneer sheets 68 fromthe conveyor 40, the movement of the leading wood veneer sheet 42 fromthe gluing station to the bed 44, and the movement of the subsequentwood veneer sheet 64 from the gluing station to flip on top of therecycled or waste material 54 on the leading wood veneer sheet 42.

[0030] Since separate stations are envisioned, the deposition of thechemical bonding agent or adhesive 48 onto the wood veneer sheet 64 maybe done at the same that the wood veneer sheet 42 is in the process ofbeing covered with the recycled or waste material 54. The glued side ofthe wood veneer sheet 64 is flipped over, such as with a pivoted tray66, and placed on top of the recycled or waste material 52 on the woodveneer sheet 42. The recycled or waste material 52 is now sandwichedbetween the two wood veneer sheets 52, 64 to form a multi-layer,composite panel.

[0031] The pivoted tray 66 may have a surface on which the wood veneersheet is placed and be hinged at one side to pivot about the hinge toposition the wood veneer sheet 64 over the wood veneer sheet 42 that hasthe recycled or waste material 52 so that its glued side faces therecycled or waste material 54 on the wood veneer sheet 42. The woodveneer sheet 64 may then be lowered or dropped in place atop therecycled or waste material 54 and released from the pivoted tray 66. Thepivoted tray 66 may have sidewalls that have grooves or projectingsurfaces that help retain the wood veneer sheet 64 stationary on thetray during the flipping movement, but which may be withdrawn or takenaway when the wood veneer sheet 64 is released.

[0032] In the event that the pivoted tray 66 is moving the leading woodveneer sheet 42, it would not flip over the leading wood veneer sheet42, but rather deposit it face up onto the bed 44. This may be done bypivoting about its hinge, but releasing it at an incline onto aninclined ramp (not shown) that allows the leading wood veneer sheet 42to slide down into position on the bed 44. The ramp would be between thepivoted tray 66 and the bed 44.

[0033] After the subsequent wood veneer sheet 64 is placed on top of therecycled or waste material 54, the cover 62 of press equipment 46 may beclosed under direction of the controller 60 to apply pressure to themulti-layer, composite panel until the bonding agents or adhesivesharden to keep the multi-layer, composite together as an integral unit.An additional layer of recycled or waste material may be applied ontothe wood veneer sheet 64 by first applying the chemical bonding agent oradhesive to the topside of the wood veneer sheet 64 and the dispensingthe additional layer of recycled or waste material on this topside.Another pre-glued wood veneer sheet may then be applied in a like mannerto sandwich this additional layer. Additional layers may be added tobuild upon the multi-layer, composite panel until all desired propertiesthat satisfy customer requirements are met.

[0034] Various sensors may be added to sense the completion of variousoperations before continuing onto the next step. For instance, sensorsmay be provided to sense the presence of a wood veneer panel at thegluing station and sense completion of the gluing. As knownconventionally, sensors may be provided to sense the quality of the gluedispensement from the glue dispenser 60 to take appropriate correctivemeasures were warranted. Sensors may be provided to detect that theamount of chemical bonding agent or adhesive 48 in the storagereceptacle 52 is running low, i.e., time to replenish. Sensors may beprovided to check whether the recycled or waste material 54 is beingdispensed onto the glued side of the wood veneer sheet 42 in a uniformmanner or any desired manner. Sensors may be provided to sense when theamount of recycled or waste material 54 within the storage bin isrunning low, i.e., time to replenish. If desired, the storage bin 56with or without its associated dispenser 58 may be exchanged by anotherstorage bin 56 (with or without its associated dispenser 58) filled withthe same or different recycled or waste material. The exchange processmay be done under the control of the controller 60. All informationdetected by the various sensors may be fed to the controller 60 andinterpreted and acted upon by the controller 60, which may issueappropriate signals or instructions to take corrective measures.

[0035] Indeed, if the customer order is menu-driven or the requirementsare otherwise entered into a computer database and appropriate measuresare taken to verify the identity of the customer or secure payment, theentire operation may be automated with little or no labor, provided therecycle and waste suppliers cooperate by filling the orders as they comein. If the invention is used by the supplier who collects recycled andwaste material, then no such cooperation would even be needed since themanufacture of panels would be an extension of their recycling and wastematerial processing business. Once sufficient material for constructionof the panels is present, which may be sensed by appropriate sensors,the panel formation process may begin to meet the customer requirements.

[0036] For purposes of this application, the concept of “joining” and“means for joining” and “joined” is not limited strictly to chemicalbonding agents or adhesives. The concept also envisions any form ofbonding, even if the recycled or waste material itself effects thebonding to the wood veneer. For instance, if plastics are heated atelevated temperatures, their chemical bonds may break down and changechemically such that they may cling to or bond or otherwise “adhere” toan adjacent surface (such as wood veneer). Thus, even though no separatechemical bonding agent or adhesive is used, the recycled or wastematerial in effect provides this same property. Thus, the terms“joining”, “means for joining”, and “joined” encompass both separateconstituents that provide these adhering or bonding features andintegral properties of recycled or waste material that exhibit suchbonding or adhering properties. Indeed, any type of binding isenvisioned, even if done mechanically such as with fasteners.

[0037] Further, the term “strip” shall mean any form in which therecycled or waste material may take, whether as straws, sheets, bars,balls or cushioning.

[0038] While the foregoing description and drawings represent thepreferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understoodthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a sandwiched, multilayercomposite panel, comprising the steps of: (A) ascertaining abrasion andmechanical resistance, insulation, flexibility, solidity, and memoryproperties that are necessary to at least satisfy specific requirementsfor a panel suited for use in a particular kind of construction; (B)choosing and obtaining a particular kind of recycled or waste materialbased on the ascertaining; (C) shredding or melting the recycled orwaste material into strips, (D) transforming wood waste into sheets ofwood veneer; (E) placing the strips on one sheet of the wood veneer; (F)joining the strips to the one sheet of wood veneer; (G) placing afurther sheet of the wood veneer onto the joined strips to sandwich thesame between two sheets of the wood veneer; and (H) joining the stripsto the further sheet of the wood veneer to form a sandwiched, multilayercomposite panel.
 2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising: applyingpressure to the sandwiched, multilayer composite panel for a durationsufficient for a manner in which the strips are joined to the one sheetof wood veneer and to the further sheet of the wood veneer to harden tokeep the sandwiched, multilayer composite panel together as an integralunit.
 3. A method as in claim 1, further comprising: repeating steps(B), (C), (D), (E), (F) and (G) to add further layers to the sandwiched,multilayer composite panel as necessary until properties of themultilayer composite panel together with the further layers satisfy thespecific requirements.
 4. A method as in claim 1, further comprisingobtaining the wood waste from leftover remnants of trees and fromlogging operations in a forest area.
 5. A method as in claim 1, furthercomprising obtaining the wood waste from sawdust, the transformingincluding compounding the sawdust and bonding the compounded sawdusttogether to form the sheets of wood veneer.
 6. A method as in claim 1,wherein the choosing and obtaining a particular kind of recycled orwaste material based on the ascertaining is selected from a groupconsisting of plastic, tires and metal.
 7. A method as in claim 6,wherein the choosing and obtaining is based on comparing knownproperties of the particular kind of the recycled or waste material withthe specific requirements.
 8. A method as in claim 7, wherein thechoosing and obtaining take into account an availability of the plastic,tires and metal.
 9. A method as in claim 6, wherein the plastic isselected from a group consisting of recycled bottles, cans, carpets orrugs made of plastic or synthetic material, the metal is selected fromrecycled aluminum and tin cans, plates and foil, and the tires areselected from a group consisting of recycled tire components and usedtires.
 10. A method as in claim 1, wherein the strips are of a typeselected from a group consisting straws, air bubble cushioning, balls,bars and sheets.
 11. A method as in claim 1, further comprising treatingat least one of the strips and the sheets to resist damage caused byfire, insects and water.
 12. A method as in claim 1, wherein theascertaining includes receiving information from a customer and basingthe specific requirements on the information.
 13. A method as in claim12, wherein the receiving is via a menu-driven interface with thecustomer.
 14. An apparatus for providing sandwiched, multilayercomposite panel, comprising: (A) means for ascertaining abrasion andmechanical resistance, insulation, flexibility, solidity, and memoryproperties that are necessary to at least satisfy specific requirementsfor a panel suited for use in a particular kind of construction; (B)means for choosing and obtaining a particular kind of recycled or wastematerial based on the ascertaining; (C) means for shredding or meltingthe recycled or waste material into strips, (D) means for transformingwood waste into sheets of wood veneer; (E) means for placing the stripson one sheet of the wood veneer; (F) means for joining the strips to theone sheet of wood veneer; (G) means for placing a further sheet of thewood veneer onto the strips to sandwich the same between two sheets ofthe wood veneer; and (H) means for joining the strips to the furthersheet of the wood veneer to form a sandwiched, multilayer compositepanel.
 15. An apparatus as in claim 14, further comprising: means forapplying pressure to the sandwiched, multilayer composite panel for aduration sufficient for a manner in which the strips are joined to theone sheet of wood veneer and to the further sheet of the wood veneer toharden to keep the sandwiched, multilayer composite panel together as anintegral unit.
 16. An apparatus as in claim 14, further comprising:means for actuating the means (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) and (G) to addfurther layers to the sandwiched, multilayer composite panel asnecessary until properties of the multilayer composite panel togetherwith the further layers satisfy the specific requirements.
 17. Anapparatus as in claim 14, further comprising means for obtaining thewood waste from leftover remnants of trees and from logging operationsin a forest area.
 18. An apparatus as in claim 14, further comprisingmeans for obtaining the wood waste from sawdust, the transformingincluding compounding the sawdust and bonding the compounded sawdusttogether to form the sheets of wood veneer.
 19. An apparatus as in claim14, wherein the means for choosing and obtaining a particular kind ofrecycled or waste material based on the means for ascertaining isselected from a group consisting of plastic, tires and metal.
 20. Anapparatus as in claim 19, wherein sid means for choosing and obtainingincludes means for comparing known properties of the particular kind ofthe recycled or waste material with the specific requirements.
 21. Anapparatus as in claim 20, wherein the means for choosing and obtainingtakes into account availability of the particular kind of the recycledor waste material.
 22. An apparatus as in claim 19, wherein the plasticis selected from a group consisting of recycled bottles, cans, carpetsor rugs made of plastic or synthetic material, the metal is selectedfrom a group consisting of recycled aluminum and tin cans, plates andfoil, the tires are selected from a group consisting of recycled tirecomponents and used tires.
 23. An apparatus as in claim 14, wherein thestrips are of a type selected from a group consisting of straws, airbubble cushioning, balls, bars and sheets.
 24. An apparatus as in claim14, further comprising means for treating at least one of the strips andthe sheets to resist damage caused by fire, insects and water.
 25. Amulti-layer, composite panel, comprising: two sheets of wood veneer; anda sandwiched layer of recycled or waste strips that is sandwichedbetween the two sheets of wood veneer, the recycled or waste materialbeing selected from a group consisting of plastic, metal and tires andbeing joined to the two sheets of wood veneer.
 26. A panel as in claim25, further comprising chemical treatment agents applied to at least oneof the two sheets of wood veneer and the strips that resist damage fromfire, insects and water.
 27. A panel as in claim 25, further comprisinga further layer on one of the two sheets of wood veneer, the furtherlayer being comprised of a different kind of the recycled or wastematerial than that of the sandwiched layer, a further sheet of woodveneer, the further layer being joined to the one of the two sheets ofwood veneer and to the further sheet of wood veneer.
 28. A panel as inclaim 25, wherein the sandwiched layer is of a sheet.
 29. A panel as inclaim 25, wherein the sandwiched layer is arranged so that the recycledor waste material forms air channels between the two sheets of woodveneer that extend along an entire length of the two sheets of woodveneer.
 30. A panel as in claim 25, wherein the sandwiched layer is of aconstruction selected from a group consisting of straws, air bubblecushioning, balls and bars.
 31. A panel as in claim 25, wherein thesandwiched layer is of a length that is shorter than a length of the twosheets of wood veneer.